Motorcyclists: Offences

Earl Peel: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What guidance they have issued to magistrates regarding the prosecution and sentencing of motorcyclists for (a) inappropriate or excessive speeding; (b) the use of illegal number plates; and (c) the fitting of illegal noisy exhaust systems.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: Judicial training is the responsibility of the Judicial Studies Board, an independent body chaired by Lord Justice Keene.
	Magistrates receive advice and training on both the general approach to sentencing and to sentencing for specific offences. The major source for guidance on motoring offences is the Magistrates' Court Sentencing Guidelines drawn up by a number of magistrates and others for the benefit of the magistracy as a whole, and effective from 1 January 2004. These guidelines are included in the Adult Court Bench Book and used nationally. The Adult Court Bench Book is accessible to everyone through the public JSB website. The guidelines provide a structure for determining an appropriate penalty within the limits set by Parliament. They require the magistrate to take into account the seriousness of the offence, the defendant's personal circumstances and, if a fine is appropriate, the defendant's means.
	For speeding offences, the guidelines propose that a number of miles per hour over the speed limit should be the primary (but not the only) factor in determining seriousness, and suggests different fine levels, penalty points and/or disqualification depending on the speed and other seriousness factors.
	There are no specific guidelines for the offences of "illegal number plates" or "illegal noisy exhaust systems" . They are within a general category of vehicle defect offences, and the guidelines suggest, as a starting point, a fine. Magistrates will use their usual process for determining the seriousness of the offence to fix the amount of that fine.

Aviation Health: Contaminated Air

Lord Tyler: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What action has been taken to ensure that captains of civil aircraft are made aware of the possible health implications for crew and passengers of pyrolised products in the air supply system so that they may fully discharge a duty of care in accordance with power of commander.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The first step is to identify whether and, if so, what health implications may arise for crew and passengers. The Government are presently considering literature submitted by the British Air Line Pilots Association (BALPA) about possible health effects of pyrolised products in the cabin air supply and will decide on further action when the results of that analysis are known.

Aviation Health: Contaminated Air

Lord Tyler: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they endorse the proposed new American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Standard 161P, "Air Quality Within Commercial Aircraft Standard", which is currently being consulted upon.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The Government do not endorse all aspects of this draft standard. In particular, the draft standard calls for fitting of air-quality monitoring equipment to commercial aircraft. Such equipment is not required because commercial aircraft ventilation systems are designed to supply air of an acceptable standard. This is confirmed at initial certification and, thereafter, each aircraft is subject to scheduled maintenance actions to ensure those standards are maintained. Where problems are encountered in service these are investigated and changes or repairs are introduced as necessary.

Aviation Health: Contaminated Air

Lord Tyler: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have a plan of action for dealing with the handling of crews and passengers directly after landing if an incident with polluted cabin air has occurred; and, if so, whether they will publish that plan.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Airlines are responsible for dealing with incidents during flight and after landing. The UK mandatory occurrence reporting system requires reports of contaminated air events where they are considered to represent potential airworthiness concerns. Actions taken by airlines in flight and after landing are documented in those reports. The Civil Aviation Authority considers all reports and conducts further investigations as necessary.
	The Aviation Health Working Group is discussing possible advice to hospitals on dealing with such a case, which they may encounter very rarely.

Aviation Health: Contaminated Air

Lord Tyler: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What steps have been taken to implement the recommendation made after the 2001 report of the Swedish board of accident investigation, or the incident on board aircraft SE-DRE on 12 November 1999, that an international database should be established with factual information from flights where suspicion of polluted cabin air exists.

Lord Davies of Oldham: A European Commission Directive on Occurrence Reporting in Civil Aviation came into force in July 2005, requiring EU states to have an occurrence reporting system. The directive was transposed into the Air Navigation Order in August 2005. Incidents related to cabin air quality are among the list of examples of reportable occurrences.
	The UK has had an occurrence reporting system in place since 1976. The directive also requires that data collected by the member states are shared with the Commission and other member states. The Commission is creating a central European database, into which all member states will feed information from their respective national databases.

Aviation Health: Contaminated Air

Lord Tyler: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What steps they have taken to ensure that carbon monoxide detectors are fitted in aircraft to enable the commander to monitor emissions.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has recently drafted a European technical standards order (ETSO) that provides an up-to-date technical specification for a carbon monoxide detector for aviation use. This draft ETSO has been submitted to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) with a recommendation for adoption as a European standard. At the same time the CAA submitted a proposal for changes to EASA's certification specifications that would mandate the installation of carbon monoxide detectors in future aeroplane designs.
	These proposals were made as a direct result of experience of accidents, and they were supported by a preliminary regulatory impact assessment. The proposals, if adopted, would require installation of carbon monoxide detectors only in single-engined aeroplanes with forward-mounted engines, since the worldwide experience of accidents and incidents does not support the need for installation of carbon monoxide detectors in other aircraft.

Aviation Health: Contaminated Air

Lord Tyler: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have examined the concerns raised by Dr Vyvyan Howard in April at the International Aero Conference on Contaminated Bleed Air, at Imperial College, in relation to the health risks of exposing unborn children to pyrolysis products of synthetic jet engine oils and hydraulic fluids in aircraft; and what steps they have taken to protect pregnant passengers.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The Government are presently considering the literature identified and submitted by British Air Line Pilots Association about possible health effects of contaminated cabin air, including Dr Howard's concerns, and will decide on further action when the results of that analysis are known.

Avian Flu

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	With regard to the birds that tested positive for H5N1, whether it is normal practice for birds not to be tested within seven to 14 days of arrival, prior to any birds dying; and why no sentinel chickens were used in these cases.

Lord Bach: During quarantine, there are two alternative procedures for testing birds for avian flu and Newcastle disease: either by the use of sentinel birds which are tested by a blood sample, or by a virus isolation test on each imported bird.
	The method used will depend on the importer's preference. If sentinel birds are used the blood samples are taken at least 21 days after the start of quarantine. If virus isolation is used, the samples must be taken seven to 15 days after the start of quarantine. Any birds which die during the quarantine period must be tested by virus isolation.

Avian Flu

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have considered the possibility that the flu was already endemic in the Pegasus "quarantine" when the first birds arrived from Surinam.

Lord Bach: The previous consignment of birds in this quarantine facility was formally released on 9 March 2005. The facility was cleansed and disinfected after use. The facility was then unused until the arrival of the consignments from which the avian influenza virus was isolated.

Avian Flu

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	On what basis they have approved a system of quarantine with a rolling entry and a rolling exit date; and how they oversee that policy.

Lord Bach: The UK does not operate a rolling entry and exit date for quarantine facilities or centres.
	In a quarantine facility there is no requirement that the birds are kept separate from each other. EU rules do not prevent the mixing of consignments of birds coming in on different dates. However, in such circumstances all birds in the quarantine must remain until the last birds to enter have completed the full period of quarantine.
	Birds are tested for Newcastle disease and avian influenza either by virology on cloacal swabs during the first seven to 15 days of the quarantine period or through serological testing of sentinel chickens. None of the birds can be released from quarantine unless all test results are satisfactory. The detailed requirements for these tests are specified in EU law. Inspections of each quarantine consignment must be carried out by a local veterinary inspector (LVI) at the beginning and end of each 30-day quarantine period.

Avian Flu

Lord Willoughby de Broke: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they intend to use vaccination to prevent the spread of H5N1 virus in commercial and domestic poultry in the event that the virus is introduced into the United Kingdom.

Lord Bach: Prophylactic vaccination of poultry is prohibited under EU Council directive 92/40/EEC. There is no avian influenza vaccine with a current marketing authorisation in the UK.

Civil Service: Sick Leave

Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What was the annual average number of days lost due to sick leave in the Civil Service in each of the past eight years.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: Data relating to the average number of days lost due to sick leave in the Civil Service have been collected centrally only since 1998. Copies of these are available in the Library. The published values for each calendar year since that time are shown in the table.
	
		
			 Year Average Days lost 
			 1998 9.8 
			 1999 10.1 
			 2000 9.9 
			 2001 9.2 
			 2002 9.8 
			 2003 10.0 
		
	
	Results for 2004 are due to be published shortly, and will be available on the Cabinet Office website at www.civilservice.gov.uk/management–of–the–civil–service/conditions–of–service/caje/publications/index.aspsickness.

Commons Bill

Lord Rotherwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their definition of "nature conservation" in Clause 30 (Functions) of the Commons Bill.

Lord Bach: Clause 55(1) of the Commons Bill interprets the term in the following way:
	"nature conservation" means the conservation of flora, fauna or geological or physiographical features.

Commons Bill

Lord Rotherwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How much funding will be provided to administer the establishment of a Commons Association as outlined in the Commons Bill; and where this additional funding will come from.

Lord Bach: Subject to the Commons Bill receiving Royal Assent, the level of funding made available to support the establishment of commons associations will be considered in the 2007–08 review of the departmental budget, and in the next comprehensive spending review.

Commons Bill

Lord Rotherwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How much funding will be provided to the commons registration authorities to administer the commons register as outlined in the Commons Bill; and where this additional funding will come from.

Lord Bach: Subject to the Commons Bill receiving Royal Assent, Defra will provide funding to local authorities for new duties that arise from Part 1 of the Commons Bill. The overall costs to local authorities will be offset through fees and efficiency savings. The regulatory impact assessment for the Bill contains estimates of new costs to be imposed on local authorities; copies have been placed in the Library of the House.

Ferco Silvag Biogas Plant

Lord Campbell-Savours: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What proportion of the £11.5 million grant undertaking for the Ferco Silvag biogas plant at Winkleigh, Devon has been paid.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: No payment has been made to date to the proposed Winkleigh bio-energy project under the bio-energy capital grants scheme.

Ferco Silvag Biogas Plant

Lord Campbell-Savours: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether there are circumstances in which the requirement for electrical efficiency, or any other requirements, are amendable under the terms of the undertaking for the Ferco Silvag biogas plant at Winkleigh, Devon; and whether the grant undertaking would remain valid if the electrical efficiency requirements were not met.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The requirements for electrical efficiency were set out in the terms and conditions of the original competition; that is, 36 per cent electrical efficiency, based on the lower heating value of the fuel as received at the installation, assuming a moisture content of 35 per cent. The output was defined in the grant application submitted by the project developer.
	To ensure that the installation will be built according to the description in the proposal the offer letter contains requirements attached to the payment milestones. These are for the independent consultant to certify that the project has first been designed, and then built, essentially as described in the application.
	Up to 85 per cent of the total grant is payable on satisfactory completion of performance tests. Should the installation fail to reach the maximum rated output specified in the proposal, and in the opinion of the independent consultant is unlikely to do so, the department reserves the right to reduce the maximum grant pro-rata to reflect the actual output.
	Requirements are amendable but consideration of any amendment would need to ensure that it is in line with the objectives of the scheme and that revisions are not likely to affect the original assessment of the competition and subsequent allocation of funding. We have no plans to amend the electrical efficiency requirement. No grant increase would be made if the applicant exceeds 36 per cent electrical efficiency.

Ferco Silvag Biogas Plant

Lord Campbell-Savours: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have received any information which challenges the electrical efficiency calculations made by consultants in the original application for a grant for the construction of the Ferco Silvag biogas plant at Winkleigh, Devon.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The Department of Trade and Industry has received a number of representations commenting on the electrical efficiency of the proposed bio-energy plant.

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

Lord Carter: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What level of inspection by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority will be required for gangmasters to qualify for a licence; and
	Whether inspection of gangmasters by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority will be risk-based or based on random inspection; and
	Whether gangmasters will be inspected by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority when licences are renewed.

Lord Bach: The inspection arrangements that will apply for the purposes of the licensing arrangements introduced under the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004 have not been finalised. The Gangmasters Licensing Authority is currently consulting on the detailed licensing arrangements and a copy of their consultation paper is on its website (www.gla.gov.uk). Comments are required by 12 December. Decisions on the level of inspection will be taken in the light of the responses to the consultation exercise.
	The Gangmasters Licensing Authority has proposed that a risk-based approach should be adopted in relation to application and compliance inspections. However, the authority has acknowledged that there may not be sufficient evidence available initially, to move immediately to a risk-based approach for application inspections. The Gangmaster Licensing Authority board has recommended that if there is insufficient evidence to establish a meaningful risk profile from the outset, inspections should be conducted for all applicants for an initial period. A risk-based approach would be introduced at the earliest possible time, as agreed by the board.
	The Gangmasters Licensing Authority has proposed that licences should be continuous unless revoked. Renewal will be an administrative process triggered by payment of a fee. The authority has suggested that there will be no need for a specific inspection at renewal although all licence holders will be subject to risk-based compliance checks.

Gaza

The Earl of Sandwich: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What priority the European Union has given to the proposals for the construction of an airport and seaport for Gaza, as discussed with the former president of the World Bank, Mr James Wolfensohn, and the Palestinian Authority; and what representations they have made on these proposals to the government of Israel.

Lord Triesman: The EU fully supports the work of quartet special envoy Wolfensohn on the issues outstanding from disengagement. Mr Wolfensohn's rapid action plan includes arrangements for Gaza's borders and crossings and the Gaza seaport and airport. These issues are crucial for the economic development of the occupied territories. We have made this clear to the Israeli Government, as has Mr Wolfensohn.
	In the context of agreements between the parties on these points, the European Commission is making available support for customs operations at the border, and has provided resources for infrastructure which could be used for the air or seaports. The 3 October EU General Affairs and External Relations Council reaffirmed the EU's readiness to support Mr Wolfensohn in his efforts and urged the parties to reach agreement on these issues.

Gaza

The Earl of Sandwich: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What assessment they have made of the current restrictions on the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza; and what immediate steps can be taken by the Government and the European Union to ease these restrictions.

Lord Triesman: The freeing up of movement between Gaza, the West Bank, Israel and Egypt is essential for Palestinian economic revival. Improved access for people and goods, while maintaining security for Israelis, is crucial for creating a sense of hope for the Palestinian people.
	There has been some progress on interim measures for connectivity between Gaza and the West Bank, with agreement on guarded convoys for goods. However, there is not yet agreement for the movement of people or for any permanent arrangement. The Israeli Government and Palestinian Authority are continuing negotiations on the Rafah crossing on the Egypt/Gaza border through the good offices of quartet special envoy Wolfensohn. We urge the Israeli and Palestinian leadership to co-operate in resolving these outstanding issues. Wolfensohn's engagement with the parties and with donors is making a big difference. We, along with the EU, are fully supporting his work. In the context of agreements between the parties on these points, the European Commission is making available support for customs operations at the border and has provided resources for infrastructure which could be used for the air or seaports.

Gulf War 1990–91: Welsh Veterans

Lord Roberts of Conwy: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many service men and women from Wales, deployed in the 1990–91 Gulf War, have diagnosed or still medically undiagnosed illnesses; and what comparable figures they have for the present deployment to Iraq.

Lord Drayson: Information on all the illnesses reported by members of the Armed Forces is not held centrally. For serving personnel, medical records are normally held locally by service medical officers. For individuals who have left the services, the normal practice is to offer the records to their GPs for permanent retention.
	As a result of the lessons learned during the 1990–91 Gulf conflict, the MoD took early action to put in place a large-scale and long-term epidemiological study to monitor the physical and psychological health of personnel who served in Operation TELIC. This research is being undertaken by King's College, London, and the results are expected to be published in 2006. If any unusual patterns of illness are found, they will be addressed as soon as possible.

Helicopters

Lord Garden: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the indication by the Lord Drayson on 25 October (Official Report, col. 1069), what extra financial resources are being allocated to support helicopters.

Lord Drayson: A strategy for our future rotorcraft capability (FRC) has been agreed which sets the level of investment in helicopters at some £4 billion over the next 10 years, with further funding earmarked thereafter. However, decisions have not yet been taken on the proportion of this to be allocated to support helicopters. This will be investigated during the land advanced concept phase of FRC over the coming year. Funding is also being invested in the way support helicopters are maintained, particularly Chinook, Merlin and Sea King, with the aim of increasing their availability.

Iraq: Exit Strategies

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will discuss early exit strategies for the coalition forces in Iraq with the United States and other allied contingents.

Lord Triesman: We have regular consultation with the US and our coalition partners on the situation in Iraq. We are committed to assisting Iraq until such time as the Iraqis are able to take responsibility for their own security. The Iraqi Government believe it is necessary for us to stay until our job is done. Withdrawal of our troops from Iraq will depend not on reaching certain dates or timetables but on achieving certain conditions.

Israel and Palestine

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they next plan to discuss Israel's standing commitment to open its borders to adjacent Palestinian territories.

Lord Triesman: We have held regular discussions on the issue of borders with the parties and within the EU. Most recently, my honourable friend the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Kim Howells) discussed this issue with Israeli Foreign Minister Shalom, Justice Minister Livni and Housing Minister Herzog during his visit to the region on 27 and 28 September. We welcome the agreement between the governments of Israel and Egypt on basic security arrangements along the Gaza-Egypt border. A resolution to the issue of a crossing point on the Rafah border is also needed and is central to the future of other crossings and issues such as the port and airport. Continued access by Palestinian workers to jobs in Israel is also crucial. We plan to discuss the issue of borders and freedom of movement at the next EU General Affairs and External Relations Council on 7 November.

Ministry of Defence: Case of Trooper Williams

Lord Campbell of Alloway: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why in the case of Trooper Williams resort was sought to the concurrent jurisdiction by the Director of Armed Legal Services, after the charge had been dismissed by the commanding officer on the Ministry of Defence Senior Legal Adviser Branch's advice that there was no case to answer.

Lord Drayson: Acting on legal advice provided by an Army Legal Service officer, Trooper Williams' commanding officer dismissed the charge against him, and did not refer the case to higher authority with a view to trial by court martial. That decision prevented the case being tried in the military justice system.
	Following further consideration, and again with the benefit of legal advice from the Army Legal Service, senior army officers decided that the case should be referred to the Attorney-General for the question of a prosecution in a civilian court to be considered. This was possible given the concurrent statutory jurisdiction of the English civilian courts to try alleged homicide offences committed abroad by British subjects.

Palestine

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What response they will make to President Abu Mazen's request on 21 October for more support from western countries for the establishment of a viable Palestinian state.

Lord Triesman: We acknowledge that the Palestinian Authority (PA) still needs considerable support post-disengagement, and we continue to do all we can to help it. A key Middle East peace process priority of our EU presidency is supporting disengagement and continued reform of Palestinian institutions. The EU is working closely with the quartet special envoy for disengagement, James Wolfensohn, in order to help realise plans to boost the Palestinian economy post-disengagement.
	This financial year the UK plans to spend around £60 million in support for the Palestinians. Around £30 million of this will be in the form of bilateral assistance, with the remainder via our contribution to the EU. We will provide £10 million to strengthen and promote further reform of the PA, through the World Bank Reform Trust Fund. This financial year, nearly £1 million of funding from our global conflict prevention fund has been allocated to support projects aimed at promoting security sector reform. We are also committed to continued and enhanced support for Palestinian civil policing, through the EU Co-ordinating Office for Palestinian Police Support. We stand willing to assist with Legislative Council elections in January if requested by the Palestinians and we have already agreed to fund the supply of the ballot papers.
	Stronger institutions are crucial to the success of a future Palestinian state, as is progress on the road map, which we continue to believe is the way forward for both sides.

Prime Minister's Spouse

Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Under what circumstances the Prime Minister's wife is entitled to the use of a government car; and at what cost this has been provided in the past eight years; and
	Whether, as a matter of routine, they provide the use of an official government car to the spouse or partner of a Cabinet Minister other than the wife of the Prime Minister.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The rules relating to the use of official cars by Ministers' spouses or partners are set out in Travel by Ministers.
	The Prime Minister's wife has been allocated a government car on security grounds. Information about the cost of government cars was published on 10 January 2005 (Official Report, Commons, 10/1/05, col. 86W). It would not be appropriate to provide the cost of individual cars as to do so could identify the level of any security modifications made to the cars.

Prime Minister's Spouse

Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which facilities and services have been provided at public expense to the Prime Minister's wife over the past eight years.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: For information relating to the use of a government car, I refer the noble Lord to the Answer I gave today. [HL1875 and HL1880]
	The Prime Minister's wife receives administrative support in her role as the Prime Minister's spouse.

Psychiatric Secure Wards

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many places are now available in psychiatric secure wards in England and Wales; and at what locations.

Lord Warner: Information is not available in the requested format. However, the hospital activity statistics system, which is available at www.doh.gov.uk/hospitalactivity, provides information on the average daily numbers of available and occupied residential beds for people with mental illness within National Health Service organisations. In 2004–05, the average daily number of available beds for adults, excluding the elderly, in secure mental illness wards was 2,696. Information on the average daily number of available beds in secure mental illness wards in England, broken down by NHS organisations, has been placed in the Library.
	In Wales, there are three facilities which provide 132 medium secure beds. The Caswell Unit is at Glanrhyd Hospital, Bridgend, south Wales; Llanarth Court is at Raglan in south-east Wales; and Ty Llywelyn is at Bryn y Neuadd Hospital, north Wales. This figure does not include the number of low secure and psychiatric intensive care beds.

Questions for Written Answer

Lord Jopling: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What factors have caused the Lord Hylton's Question for Written Answer (HL536), tabled on 14 June, to be still awaiting a reply 18 weeks later, when the target time for replies is two weeks.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Our records show that Lord Hylton's Question was replied to on 22 July 2005, but it subsequently transpired that this was not received. Baroness Amos' office and Lord Hylton made the department aware of this in August when copies of the letter were re-sent, but the Minute Room were inadvertently not included in the distribution. I can now refer the noble Lord to my answer of 27 October 2005 (Official Report, col. WA 197).

Skills Shortages

Lord Alton of Liverpool: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Adonis on 18 October (WA 122), which specific technical or practical skills are most in short supply; and which skills shortages, if any, could be addressed by technical or practical courses in secondary schools.

Lord Adonis: The National Employers Skills Survey 2004, published by the Learning and Skills Council, showed that a number of sectors have difficulties finding skilled recruits. The number of skill shortage vacancies was particularly high among employers falling within the following sector skills councils: Lantra (environmental and land-based industries); Automotive (retail motor industry); Construction Skills (development and maintenance of the built environment) and Summit Skills (building services engineering). However, employers did not specify exactly which technical and practical skills are lacking. The 2005 survey, to be published in early 2006, has asked employers to give details of the particular technical and practical skills which are in short supply. Sector skills councils have been charged with setting out the actions needed to secure the right flow of skills to meet their industry requirements, and are working closely with the Department for Education and Skills and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, in the design and development of educational and training programmes, such as the young apprenticeship programme and the new specialised diplomas qualifications. Sector skills councils are also looking to develop national skills academies; these national centres of excellence which will work in partnership with the public education sector to deliver high quality, responsive learning for young people and adults.

Thames Gateway

Baroness Hanham: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What consideration is being given to the prevention of flooding of the proposed housing and other developments in the Thames Gateway.

Lord Bach: London and the communities in the Thames estuary are protected against tidal flooding to the highest standard in the UK. Standards of protection in the Medway estuary meet Defra's indicative standards, except for some small areas, which are being studied at present by the Environment Agency.
	In order to ensure that flood risks are adequately understood and provided for in the Thames Gateway growth areas, the Environment Agency is undertaking strategic flood risk assessments for east London, Kent Thameside and south Essex. These will identify the levels of flood risk and appropriate mitigation options. Individual developments will be subject to site-specific flood-risk assessments that will identify measures to reduce risk to life and property to acceptable levels for the lifetime of the development.
	For the longer term, the Environment Agency is preparing a flood risk management plan for the Thames estuary to the year 2100. This will examine the options and their technical, economic, environmental and social implications.
	Flooding from sewers is dealt with by the water services companies and surface water flooding is a matter for either the local authority or the highway authority.

Uzbekistan

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What representations they are making to the government of Uzbekistan concerning the harassment suffered by employees of the BBC World Service and the arrest and subsequent treatment of the leader of the opposition (Sunshine Coalition).

Lord Triesman: Our ambassador in Tashkent, David Moran, has made regular representations on freedom of expression and the treatment of local and international journalists with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at ministerial and official level. Our embassy in Tashkent has also made specific representations in relation to the difficulties experienced by the BBC including immediately after the events in Andizhan on 12 and 13 May which led to the deaths of hundreds of civilians, and at the time of Monica Whitlock's departure in June 2005. We have kept in close and active touch with the BBC in the period following Andizhan, both in Tashkent and London. It has been appreciative of our support. Our ambassador recently reassured the head of the BBC monitoring office, which remains in Tashkent, that the welfare of remaining BBC monitoring staff continues to be a high priority.
	We issued a presidency statement on 25 October calling on the Uzbek authorities to clarify the charges against Mr Umarov, leader of the opposition Sunshine Coalition, to allow full access by his lawyers and family and to ensure that Mr Umarov is treated according to international standards. Our ambassador also raised his case with First Deputy Minister Mustafayev on 26 October. Our embassy continues to monitor Mr Umarov's case closely and remains in touch with Mr Umarov's family and his lawyer.

Voting: Proportional Representation

Lord Roberts of Conwy: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they propose to change the additional member system of proportional representation as it will apply to the elections (a) to the Scottish Parliament, and (b) the Greater London Assembly.

Lord Evans of Temple Guiting: The Government have no plans to change the additional member system of proportional representation as it applies to elections to the Greater London Authority or to the Scottish Parliament.
	My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Scotland has charged the Commission on Boundary Differences and Voting Systems, under the chairmanship of Sir John Arbuthnott, as part of its remit to examine the method of election to the Scottish Parliament. The commission is due to report to the Secretary of State by the end of this year.